Drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa
South Africa: Drinking water services in rural areas was 760,592 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
760,592 people
Change on year
down 14.1%
World rank
30th
of 178 countries
All-time high
3.83 million people
in 2000
All-time low
760,592 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024
Drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2024, drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa stood at 760,592 people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 14.1% on the previous year and down 62.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa peaked at 3.83 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 760,592 people, in 2024.
That places South Africa 30th out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.83 million people | — |
| 2001 | 3.69 million people | -3.6% |
| 2002 | 3.56 million people | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 3.42 million people | -3.8% |
| 2004 | 3.28 million people | -4.0% |
| 2005 | 3.15 million people | -4.1% |
| 2006 | 3.01 million people | -4.3% |
| 2007 | 2.88 million people | -4.4% |
| 2008 | 2.75 million people | -4.5% |
| 2009 | 2.62 million people | -4.7% |
| 2010 | 2.49 million people | -4.9% |
| 2011 | 2.36 million people | -5.1% |
| 2012 | 2.24 million people | -5.2% |
| 2013 | 2.12 million people | -5.3% |
| 2014 | 2.01 million people | -5.6% |
| 2015 | 1.89 million people | -5.6% |
| 2016 | 1.76 million people | -7.1% |
| 2017 | 1.62 million people | -7.8% |
| 2018 | 1.50 million people | -7.4% |
| 2019 | 1.38 million people | -8.1% |
| 2020 | 1.26 million people | -8.8% |
| 2021 | 1.14 million people | -9.8% |
| 2022 | 1.01 million people | -11.0% |
| 2023 | 885,800 people | -12.4% |
| 2024 | 760,592 people | -14.1% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 760,592 people is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 845.16 people, 899.9× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 760,592 people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 528,044 people, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.22 million people | 2.62 million people | 3.83 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.94 million people | 1.38 million people | 2.49 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.01 million people | 760,592 people | 1.26 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 27 Papua New Guinea 887,444 people compare
- 28 Guinea 878,871 people compare
- 29 Yemen 825,460 people compare
- 31 Sierra Leone 707,883 people compare
- 32 Cote d'Ivoire 691,482 people compare
- 33 Bangladesh 628,636 people compare
More environment data for South Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 8.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.275 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.59 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.2953 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa was 760,592 people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3.83 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 760,592 people in 2024.
- How does South Africa rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- South Africa ranks 30th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 62.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Drinking water services in rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.